General Question

Real-life Kobayashi Maru?

In “Star Trek,” Kirk was commended for creativity and made captain after cheating on the “Kobayashi Maru” test. Do you know of any real life situations where someone who was known to have cheated was rewarded rather than punished?

9 Answers

While I’m inclined to agree, @FutureMemory, the OFFICIAL judges at that time, the Supreme Court, agreed not with Al Gore and company, but with George W. Right or wrong (yeah, wink…) they said he did not cheat and was the legitimate winner.

@DrBill Not so at all. Bush is the only president ever appointed by the justices his party put on the Supreme Court. The Republican Party claims to love state’s rights, and the Florida constitution required a recount in any electin as close as the 2000 presidential race was. The Supreme Court overruled the Florida law and decided the election. The move was so unprecedented the Justices for the majority opinion wrote that it should never be used for precedent in another case. Presumably that is in case it’s a Democrat who the first count gives the election to.

@DrBill No, I wouldn’t, unless you can point me to some secret Supreme Court action that has never before been reported.. What I would actually see is that “wright” wingers believe that voter fraud is rampant—mainly because they are so accomplished at Freudian projection. They is always trying to find ways to rig elections, so they are certain the opposition is doing the same, and they broadcast that message to their gullible base.

Like most GOP broadcasts, the “rampant voter fraud” one isn’t true. Case in point. In the Republican primary in South Carolina—which is an open primary meaning Democrats and Independents are free to vote in it—the GOP complained that Hundreds of dead people voted. The State Attorney general, a far right Republican, investigated. The list of “hundreds” of dead people turned out to contain 6 names. 5 of them were not found among the people who did vote. One was found. He voted using an Early Ballot and died after casting his vote, but before the election. So “Hundreds” of dead people actually turns out to be Zero in fact.